The wreck of the Champlain was stumbled upon by researchers from the Marine Institute surveying the seabed near St. Lawrence on 3 August 2020. With a multibeam echo sounder, they were able to identify a wreck easily at a depth of 69m. The shipwreck was located just six kilometres southeast of the town of St. Lawrence and 1.4 km southeast of Cape Chapeau Rouge, on the south coast of the Burin Peninsula. The survey vessel was also equipped with an underwater drop camera which was used to gain images of the wreck to help with the identification.
After the discovery, the research team reached out to the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador to help with the identification. With the imagery from the survey, determining the size and construction of the vessel, along with links to the shipwreck provided below, it was determined to be the Champlain.
Originally built in Scotland as an icebreaker for the Government of Canada in 1904, the Champlain was converted to a tug in 1928. During the vessel’s first year of ownership with Bowater’s, Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Mills, she was grounded near the town of Lawn and sank off Cape Chapeau Rouge.